About Sonia Aldape, LCSW, PMH-C | Pronouns: she/her/ella

Hi, I am Sonia Aldape (she/her/ella) licensed psychotherapist and founder of Vida Libre Therapy. If you are seeking support at this time, I extend my heart to you and hope that this information helps you decide if I may be the right therapist for you.

I am licensed to practice psychotherapy as a Clinical Social Worker (LCSW #91224) in California. I speak both English and Spanish. My strengths of empathy, drive for social justice and personal journey of healing has led me towards a career in Social Work since 2007 and to Psychotherapy since 2013. 

Prior to private practice, I have worked across the Bay Area in outpatient non-profit agencies and public schools building a wealth of professional experiences at A Better Way (Oakland, CA), Edgewood Center for Children and Families (San Mateo, CA), John O'Connell High School  (San Francisco, CA) and Wood Middle School (Alameda, CA) serving low-income youth and families facing adversity and complex mental health conditions. 

I have also worked, most recently, in outpatient healthcare centers such as Kaiser Permanente (Union City, CA) and Alliance Medical Center (Healdsburg, CA) serving adults and couples integratively with medical and addiction teams, whose diversity and complexity have instilled in me a passion for providing care that is personalized, empirically sound while holistic. 

Personally, I am a fellow imperfect being with vast life experience. I do what I can to engage with practices that nourish and inspire me to sustain authenticity, passion and presence in my work and in personal life. Some of these practices include participating in my own personal therapy,  prioritizing movement, health, meditation, connection, pleasure and the values and lessons learned within my own life journey, spirituality, community and ancestry. 

I especially honor my own resilience and familial culture from a childhood in the Central Valley of California within a Mexican-immigrant family that faced significant socio-economic and emotional challenges due to high levels of adversity.  My healing journey includes a multitude of empowering experiences in my adult life from education, travel, nature, relationships, meditation, therapy and living with access to the rich wisdom of vast resources in the landscape of intersectional diversity,  international communities and abundance of the Bay Area.

I currently live in Foster City, CA with my partner and our two cats. We are a multicultural and neurodiverse family blending a therapist and engineer mind as well as Eastern and Western world upbringings. 

My education, personal and professional experiences have taught me a guiding belief that our environments, culture, identities and how we move through the world impacts how we understand the world, our mental health, how we heal, experience pleasure and connect with others. 

With this guide, I enjoy, welcome and approach working with people from all walks of life with cultural humility, thoughtful curiosity and allyship.